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Around midday on 21 November 1939 the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, escorted by the light cruisers Köln and Leipzig and the destroyers Z 11 / Bernd von Arnim, Z 12 / Erich Giese and Z 20 / Karl Galster, departed Wilhelmshaven for a raid into the North Atlantic, this was to relieve the pressure of the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee operating in the South Atlantic. Late on the 21st the escorts left the battlecruisers.

Just after 1500 hours on 23 November the British armed merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi (Capt. E.C. Kennedy, (retired), RN) sighted the Scharnhorst. Rawalpindi was part of the British Northern Patrol and was stationed south-east of Iceland in the Iceland-Faroes gap. Captain Kennedy tried to outrun the German ship and reported to the Admiralty that he sighted the German pocket battleship Deutschland, still believed to be operating in the North Atlantic. Just after 1600 hours, Rawalpindi came within range of the Scharnhorst and was quickly reduced to a flaming wreck. During this engagement Scharnhorst was hit by a 6? shell from Rawalpindi causing only light damage. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau together picked up 27 survivors from Rawalpindi. Rawalpindi finally sank around 2000 hours.

The British light cruiser HMS Newcastle (Capt J. Figgins, RN), that was also part of the Northern Patrol, picked up Rawalpindi?s signal and closed the scene. She sighted the Gneisenau but the Germans managed to escape in the fog.

Despite the British effort to intercept the German ships, both German battlecruisers returned to Wilhelmshaven on the 27th.

26 Feb 1940While escorting the Bergen-bound ON-series convoy ON-15 in the Skagerrak, HMS Imperial (Lt.Cdr. C.A.deW. Kitcat, RN) was in collision with the Swedish freighter Nordia (1316 GRT) sinking her. The mishap occurred about 70 nautical miles west-south-west of Feistenen in position 61°12'N, 03°08'E. HMS Imperial was out of action for 1.5 month.

The convoy was not spotted and arrived safe at Malta on 11 October. The only damage sustained was to the destroyer HMS Imperial that was mined off Malta and was out of action for over 6 months.

While on the return trip the Mediterranean Fleet was sighted by an Italian aircraft. The Italian Navy tried to intercept them in the Ionian Sea. In the night of 11/12 October the first Italian torpedo boat flotilla with Airone, Alcione and Ariel attacked HMS Ajax. The attack failed and Ajax sank Airone and Ariel, Alcione escaped. A little while later the Italian 11th destroyer flotilla, with Artigliere, Aviere, Camicia Nera and Geniere arrived at the scene. They were surprised by the radar-directed gunfire from HMS Ajax. Artigliere was heavily damaged and Aviere was slightly damaged. Camicia Nere tried to tow Artigliere away but she was sighted by a British Sunderland aircraft that homed in 3 Swordfish aircraft from HMS Illustrious. However, the torpedoed they fired didn't hit the Italian ships. Later the British heavy cruiser HMS York arrived at the scene. Camicia Nera quickly slipped the towing line and sped off. After her crew had left the ship Artiglire was sunk by York.

While the Mediterranean Fleet was still on the return trip aircraft from HMS Illustrious and HMS Eagle attacked Leros and in the evening of the 14th the British light cruiser HMS Liverpool while south-east of Crete was hit in the bow by a torpedo from an Italian aircraft. The cruiser was heavily damaged and was repaired at the Mare Island Navy Yard in the USA. HMS Liverpool was not operational again until January 1942.

29 May 1941HMS Imperial (Lt.Cdr. C.A.deW. Kitcat, RN) sailed from Alexandria at 0600 hrs of 28/5 with CLs Orion, Flagship of Radm Bernard Rawlings, Ajax and Dido, DDs Decoy, Jackal, Hotspur, Kimberley, Hereward, tasked with evacuating British troops from Crete.
At 1920 hrs that evening, while the formation was transiting Kasos Channel heading north, there was an attack by Italian S.84 level bombers belonging to the 205? Squadriglia, 41? Gruppo Bombardamento Terrestre, led by pilot Lt. Giovanni Ghinazzi.
One of the bombs near-missed Imperial's stern, detonating in the vicinity of her propellers, with no immediately apparent consequences. Keeping station, Imperial arrived at Iraklion around 2030 hrs, embarked 300 troops and sailed for Alexandria at 0320 hrs, 29 May.
Shortly after 0345 hrs, while working up speed and already making 29 kn, the rudder, evidently damaged by the earlier near-miss, jammed, and the out-of-control destroyer cut across the bow of Orion, barely missing a catastrophic collision. After determining the impossibility of carrying out repairs, and unwilling to delay the retreat of the entire Squadron, Radm Rawlings ordered Hotspur (Lcdr. C. P. F. Brown) to remove crew and passengers, which was done by 0445 hrs, then scuttle the cripple. Hotspur therefore fired 2 torpedoes into Imperial, sinking her, about 55 nm east of Kasos island.